Tuesday, September 1, 2009

And this obsession. I think, may well outlast his affection for any girl he has met or has yet to meet. This obsession, after all, has persevered since the very beginning of his short life; from the very first time he started to become capable of making his wants and desires known.

Screw the balloons -- how's that potty training going? My boy was late, too, not with the poo, but with the pee. And when he got really resistant, he'd poo in his pants.

The way we worked through it involved some sacrifice on my part, though it was shortlived. When he peed in his pants, I would act extremely worried and say that we couldn't go out for the rest of the day in case that happened in public, which would be unimaginably hard for Mama. And, if it happened in public, we would leave immediately and stay home for the whole day. After a few times of not getting to go to parties, playdates, the park, etc., he wised up.

Graham's problem, however, sounds like it could be more tricky. If he's holding his BM for several days on end, this is a physical problem as well as a mental one. He's stubborn, yes, but what is the root problem? Is he afraid? Is it a scary feeling to defecate? I knew a little girl who had trouble being potty trained on the BM; she held it, too, and when it finally came, she cried terribly.

In the end, know that Graham will work through it. Even if you're working on it for a while longer. I would advise trying to make it manageable for YOU -- helping Graham is important, but try to keep your expectations in check, so you don't get too upset. He will probably clench up more the more he sees you upset.

With my 3-yr-old grandson Dylan it's garbage trucks! On garbage pick-up day we have to run outside so he can follow the several trucks that pass by our house as they work their way down our street. One worker even stops his truck and lets Dylan push the buttons and pull a lever! When we're out walking just about every garbage man we see driving by honks and waves at us, haha!